Master of Public Administration

Bring positive change to today’s critical social problems—hunger, poverty, and marginalization.

Public Administration chair Beryl Levinger and current MPA students share the benefits of a degree program focused on practical skills for making positive change in the world. — Practical Skills for Positive Change
Transcript

My name is Beryl Levinger and I have the great privilege of chairing the Development Practice and Policy Program. The Development Practice and Policy program or DPP as we call it has something for anybody who's serious about a career in development.

One of the great things about the public administration program, and all of the DPP programs really, is that they give you the opportunity to use the skills you learn. A lot of classes are built around consultancies with real clients. So we've had a lot of practical opportunities to use what we learn in classes, and to get mentorship in using them in the context of working with real clients.

You've identified the policy issue. But I want you to do one more thing. I want you to generate one recommendation. It's a fairly comprehensive analysis. What we're gonna do, by the way, is the same thing we've been doing in the past. You'll get a chance to look at each other's.

Several courses each semester will require students to prepare a client deliverable. And therefore students develop skills very quickly in how to communicate with the client. How to listen carefully, how to develop products that actually meet real client needs.

I got to go to Peru for a month with an entire class and a professor. And we got to work with an organization that was founded by MIIS Allumn. To gain that kind of experience out in the field for entire month with these other aspiring professionals was so valuable and something I can't image having had the chance to do in any other context.

In all of the work that our students do, we strive to ensure that they're applying the skills that they've gained in a classroom environment, in a real setting, in a setting that closely mirrors the one they they hope to we working in as soon as they graduate.

I've had many opportunities to use my skills that I've learned at MIIS in the field. Both in the classes themselves, because a lot of them are built around student consultancies with real clients. And also through immersive programs like IPSS and DPMI.

The thing that appealed to me about MIIS is that it was a smaller campus. Big enough to have many opportunities internationally and professionally, but small enough to feel that I can have lunch with a professor. See them in office hours almost any time, if I didn't make their office hours I could schedule an appointment with them and it was very easy.

At the end of the day you are who you hang out with. And the people you're gonna be hanging out with are going to be your long lost posse. People like you, who are curious about the world, who are excited about the role of language, and want to make a difference.

We know that there's oil in Monterey Bay. And there's oil off the coast of Santa Barbara. Why aren't there oil rigs that are pumping that oil and taking it to market and selling it?

The students we have and the faculty we have are the kindest, most compassionate, most caring, most committed people you'll ever meet. And when I say committed I mean to a world of social justice equality, sustainability, and mutual responsibility.

I wanted somewhere that was thinking of, how do we take all the tools at our disposal and work towards social good? And it attracts students who all have a shared commitment to working for something larger than themselves. The end result for me is a really integrated experience where I feel like I'm gaining all the tools and skills that I need. All focused on what I want to be doing. And in a community that's so supportive and has been so important to me in helping figuring out what I wanna do next.

You're gonna be a skilled communicator. You're gonna be a gifted listener. And you're going to be a great leader.

The Middlebury Institute Master of Public Administration (MPA) prepares you to lead project teams, specialized departments, or development organizations that work for social change, including NGOs, governments, and UN agencies around the world.

The MPA and International Policy and Development programs share a common faculty and curriculum. This gives you the flexibility to explore both areas of study and then choose one at the start of your final semester. These separate but related skill sets reflect real-world collaboration and make for a more effective model of communication between policy development and practice.

The MPA program includes core course work, optional areas of specialization, and a professional practicum. Improving language and intercultural competence is central to all degree programs at the Institute, and MPA students take courses taught in their chosen language of study. Students can choose to take additional classes to further develop their intercultural competence.